Australia has recorded the highest number of data breaches in more than three years, with the government sector being one of the greatest targets, according to a new report.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner published the data today, revealing it recorded 527 breaches from January to June this year.
That figure was up nine per cent from the six months prior and the highest reported since the second half of 2020.
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“Almost every day, my office is notified of data breaches where Australians are at likely risk of serious harm,” Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said.
The top five sectors to notify the regulator of a breach was; health service providers, the Australian government, finance, education and retail.
The Australian government reported 63 breaches in the first six months this year.
A total of 67 per cent of all breaches were found to be malicious or criminal attacks, while 30 per cent were chalked up to human error and three per cent were system faults.
Cyber criminals were able to hack into systems through phishing, ransomware or using compromised or stolen credentials.
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And the attacks had a real human impact too.
Most of the breaches – 63 per cent – affected up to 100 people, the report found.
The largest breach in the six months to June was of MediSecure, which affected about 12.9 million Australians.
“This harm can range from an increase in scams and the risk of identity theft to emotional distress and even physical harm,” Kind said.
“Privacy and security measures are not keeping up with the threats facing Australians’ personal information and addressing this must be a priority.”
The Home Affairs department has been contacted for comment.
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